I am a novice scholar, right now doing research in literary history. My subject was a famous
talented Chinese artist and poet. When he was young he had a wife. He played female characters on stage. He cared
about his looks and dressed up like a lady. Then he went to Japan for studies in art and music and had a Japanese
woman as a partner. He returned to China to teach music. One day he asked a male student who worshiped him to come
meet him at a late hour in the classroom that evening. The young man went there but it was so dark and quiet in the
classroom and hesitated for a while. Then the teacher turned on the light. He had been sitting there in dark and then
he told the student that he was late for appointment and sent him away. Later this talented teacher gave up everything
in the world, and decided to be a Buddhist monk. Years later, his Japanese “wife” came to see him, he agreed to meet her,
but did not say any words and then turned away without even looking back at his weeping “lady.” As a monk he was well
known and highly respected for his scholarship and morality. He took a handsome young man as his disciple, spending lot of
money to support the latter’s life and studies. So this is my question: Were his behaviors a possible or a sure sign of him
being a gay after all? I will greatly appreciate any informed answer.
Justin
I wish I could help you solve one of the great mysteries of literary history, but I am incapable of making any valid judgments about the sexual proclivities of a dead Chinese artist-poet-music teacher-actor-drag queen-Buddhist monk even though I am greatly intrigued by his ability to be worshiped and followed by handsome adult students and disciples.
I secretly yearn to be worshiped by handsome adult students who willingly come to me as I sit silently in a dark, but heavily atmospheric room after class. Clearly, I’m in the wrong business. I thought only rock stars received that kind of officially sanctioned job perk. If I had known that music teachers did too, I’d be applying my guitar pick or rosining my bow in a classroom somewhere right now just waiting for the bell to ring. Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
What does one have to do to get disciples? I’d also like get some of them if they are tall, dark, and handsome. I pray that having handsome adult disciples follow me wherever I go does involve what the name suggests . . . discipline. Please, do tell. I’m all ears.
All joking aside, I’m afraid you will never know the answer to the absorbing question that frustrates your intellectual curiosity. I am a learned scholar of the history of American pop culture/music/film; and I feel compelled to warn you of the dangers of becoming so involved in your quest for history’s answers that you forget basic, key elements of a historian’s job description. A historian must always strive to report the facts of history accurately, and a historian can never succumb to the temptation of answering history’s unsolvable questions by rewriting history or filtering it through the lens of contemporary sensibilities. A modern day historian must always refrain from imposing his own morals and cultural cues upon the historical figures he researches. The fascinating Chinese artist-poet-music teacher-drag queen-actor-Buddhist monk who is the subject of your research lived his life in accordance with the values of his day and culture, not yours or mine. I am a twentieth century American homosexual. It is impossible for me to know for certain if the long ago deceased, Chinese object of your diligent studies was gay; and it is impossible for you to discern if he was gay based on what your studies have revealed so far. At this time, you have found no cogent evidence of his true sexual orientation despite your exhaustive efforts. All reputable historians must bravely brace themselves for the possibility that the accurately recorded history they report cannot answer every question imaginable. Even the most accurate and thorough reporting of history will, indeed, ultimately still leave mysteries that will linger eternally. I, for example, will forever be painfully tormented by one of pop music history’s most tragically unanswered questions: If Mama Cass had simply shared that ham sandwich with Karen Carpenter, would they both still be alive today . . . ? ? ?
Thank you for turning to our site when you needed your question thoughtfully answered. People of all sexual orientations and occupations are welcome to contact us, of course.
I wish you fair winds and following seas.
Val
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